Simon Barrett

The internet is a wonderful tool, in a space of 30 years it has gone from an obscure US government funded research project to a tool that is part of our daily lives.

Without the Internet pianist and composer David Peoples would have been unable, or at least been very unlikely to have made Looking For Utopia. He faced a huge problem, it is one thing to identify the very best musicians in the world for an album, but the logistics of getting them all in one place at the same time is akin to herding cats!

The solution was to build the album in layers. David recorded the basic tracks in Atlanta, digital copies were then passed on to the other collaborators, Carina Bruwer and Natasha Jaffe. Carina calls South Africa home and plays the Slide Flute.I had never heard of a Slide Flute, I found this clip of Carina playing it, it is quite the strange instrument.

We all had such a great time last week discussing and playing songs popular during the civil war that we are having a part two. Once again Joel Moore and I will be joined by Mike Byrd and Keith Letson of the band Lost Cause.

 

With lots of music to select from this should be a great program. We will be playing some very traditional British folk songs and trying to see how they became part of the war music

This week on Journey Into the Civil War author Joel Moore and I will be looking at some of the music associated with the war, in particular the songs of the confederacy. Joining us will be musicians Mike Byrd and Keith Letson of the band Lost Cause.

DJ Trump’s newly released music video, "Grab 'Em", juxtaposes Donald J. Trump's rhetoric, set to Gangsta rap samples, against a rapid collage of historical footage from more than 150 documentaries to present two opposing portraits of America. Using recordings of Trump’s speeches, “Grab ‘Em” is a parodic yet uncomfortable song as so much of Trump’s rhetoric fits unapologetically into the Gangsta rap genre. However, the music video cuts against the divisive lyrics by presenting a comprehensive look at the history of America, from its music to its protests, from its national parks to its labor force. “Grab ‘Em” is a quilt of footage that shows what has always made America great despite any rhetoric of divisiveness.

The song uses samples of Gangsta rap classics, including those by Coolio, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg, as a commentary on the narcissism and self-aggrandizement common in Trump's rhetoric. The lyrics from one sample, "Imma beat dat p***y up" ("Wait (The Whisper Song)" by Ying Yang Twins), directly alludes to Trump's own "Grab them by the p***y" comment. The song also uses samples from politically oriented rap and rock, such as The Coup and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”. In the chorus, behind chants of “U.S.A.”, the national anthem is sampled against the de facto anthem of the Confederate states, “Dixie Land.” The many musical references aim to both anchor and jolt the song’s coherence from the lyrics.

On YouTube at https://youtu.be/EIBMZZgeBq0

This week author Joel Moore and I will be joined by Terry Brown, a leading authority on Fort Monroe. The Shithsonian starts its entry about the fort:

As a white child in southern Virginia, I thought his first name was “Beast” because everyone called him that. Gen. Benjamin Franklin Butler was our nemesis—the Union commander of Fort Monroe, at the entrance to southeastern Virginia’s vast natural harbor; the churl who ordered the women of New Orleans to yield the sidewalk whenever Yankee soldiers approached; the officer who returned to oversee the occupation of Norfolk. But I was never told how Butler and Fort Monroe figured in one of the pivotal moments of the Civil War.

I hope that you will join us for what I am sure will be a great program

Prog Ensemble 41POINT9 is releasing their eagerly awaited new album“Mr. Astute Trousers” on October 19, 2018! Hammer meets anvil and the sparks fly. In the process, a sword is made stronger than it could have been before. The same thing happened back in 1995 when bassist/songwriter/producer Bob Madsen met guitarist/songwriter/singer Brian Cline in the North Bay Area of California. Brian and Bob began working together on a few tunes written by Bob and began a lifelong “bromance.” In Brian, Bob had found the perfect voice for his muse. The only problem was Brian's insistence on editing Bob's lyrics (a process referred to as “lyrical evisceration”). (Of course, the real problem is that almost without exception Bob has had to admit that Brian's edits make the songs better.)

Jann Klose is elated to have his brand-new studio album “In Tandem” released worldwide. Fans can download and stream the album, which features a selection of top South African artists such as Karen Zoid and Tamara Dey, on their favorite digital platform. “In Tandem” also features a duet between Jann and legendary Renaissance vocalist Annie Haslam on a cover version of Peter Gabriel's “Don't Give Up,” which has also been released as a single.

 

The wait is finally over after almost a year's worth of work going into the writing and recording of the album, and Jann is ready for people to hear all the songs on “In Tandem”! “I am so excited to release 'In Tandem' to the world! Making this album has been the most beautiful creative experience of my life and career thus far. Working with all these great guest artists from three continents has opened my mind in ways I never expected. I think this is my most honest work to date and I hope everyone enjoys listening to it as much as we did making it.”

From my review...

OK, let me start with a confession, this might be a slightly biased review. On Brian Hagen’s web site he has a list of his musical favorites and mentions ELP’s fabulous album Tarkus. Tarkus was the very first album I bought, I was 12 or 13, knew nothing of ELP but I could not resist the artwork! I still listen to ii today, the LP has long since been retired, but the music lives on online

So, Brian gets a bonus point for Tarkus…..

I found You’re The One to be a delight. There are 14 tracks, 7 original and 7 by classical composers. I really like this idea, it gives you a real sense of the players ability not only to compose, but also to play. There is a benchmark set and the goal is to fit in.

By one source I found some 26,000 Native American's were involved in the Civil War, fought on both sides, and their resons for involvement were both varied and complex. Some tribes fought in the hope that it would help bring down the cultural barriers between the and the Whiteman. Others fought in the hope that it would better their position in life.

In Indian Tererory the Chickasaws and Choctaws sided with the Confederacy for a variety of reasons, including their slaveholding history, geographic pressure from bordering states, and the U.S. government’s abandonment of their treaty responsibility to protect the Choctaws from invasion.

This should be an interesting journey, please join uu.

There are many misconceptions when it comes the the subject of Black men in the Civil War. It is easy to paint with a broad brush, black men joined the Union to get retribution on the southern slave owners, the Confederate black men were merely slaves conscripted to serve their masters wishes.

Yes, both statements are true, yet both are wrong. The story if far more complex.

Joining author Joel Moore and I will be Historian Joe Becton

Pleace join us for what I suspect will be a great discussion